. >> the president is also making clear he has the back of america's ambassador to the united nations, susan rice, after the september attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. she announced the attack there was triggered by a video in the u.s. now they're bound to block her nomination if she's picked to be the next secretary of state. it hasn't happened yet, but this clearly angered the president. >> the senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. >> dan lothian is live from washington this morning. i want to start talking about the fiscal cliff. because he did set some boundaries. he, of course, optimistically said we could see a deal by next week if they did it his way, but that really hinges on the issue of taxes. how are republicans responding? >> two ways. first of all, there seems to be this willingness among republicans to find areas of agreement, to find some compromise. but they are pushing back on the president's proposals, because they don't think that a solution should mean raising taxes on any americans, including weal